Doomwheel

A Doomwheel.

The Doomwheel is a war machine used by the Skaven of Clan Skryre. Few devices sum up the crazed ingenuity of the skaven better than the Doomwheel. At first, it might seem ludicrous to those who have never seen one in battle. This delusion is soon shattered, as the war wheel ploughs into the enemy lines, spitting bolts of warp lightning while crushing everything in its path to a bloody paste.^[1a]

Rats scampering on twin treadmills inside an enormous wheel provide the primary motive force of the machine. This, in turn, sparks the warpstone generator that – if all goes well – discharges bolts of lethal warp lightning. If these do not slay the foe, then it will be up to the great iron-banded wheel to crush all who dare to stand in the Doomwheel's path. At the centre of the contraption sits a Warlock Engineer pilot. Occupying this mighty work of death-dealing artifice leaves the warlock so full of reassurance that the otherwise dubious courage of his race is, at least partially, gone. ^[1a]

Of course, there are always ‘technical challenges’ that make the Doomwheel dangerously haphazard. Sometimes, steering is a duty that must be temporarily abandoned due to more immediate concerns, and it is not uncommon to see Doomwheels plough through a pack or two of allies before they slam into the enemy lines. Random, cruel and undeserved death is nothing new for the Skaven, however, and so long as Doomwheels continue to rip through the foe’s formations with such effectiveness, they will continue to be built. ^[1a]

Gallery

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  A Doomwheel.

Sources

• 1: Battletome: Skaven (2019)
  • 1a: Warlocks and Weapons of Skryre, pg. 34-37
• 2: Warscrolls
  • 2a: Doomwheel from Grand Alliance: Chaos
  • 2b: Doomwheel from Battletome: Skaven (2019)